On the Road - Acadia National Park
October 25, 2022Acadia National Park, located on Mt. Desert Island, is one of the most visited National Parks in the U.S with 4.07 million visitors in 2021. The park was established in 1919 as Lafayette National Park by President Woodrow Wilson. It wasn’t until 1929, when Congress authorized the donation of the Schoodic Peninsula, that the park adopted the name Acadia. It was also the first national park created through private lands donated to the public by conservation-focused citizens.
Mt. Desert Island has a rich history beginning long before Europeans set foot in North America. Called “Pemetic”, which translates to “the sloping land”, by the native Wabanaki people, signs of encampments around the island shows it has been inhabited for over 5,000 years. Mt. Desert Island got its current name during an expedition in 1604 led by Frenchman Samuel Champlain. During his visit, he wrote in his journal, “The mountain summits are all bare and rocky… I name it Isles des Monts Déserts.” In 1613, French Jesuits established the first French mission in America on the island. They planted corn, began working on a fort, and baptized the native people until an English ship commanded by Captain Samuel Argall destroyed the mission. This left the island divided between the French in the north and the British in the south. 75 years later, Antoine Laumet, an immigrant to New France, entitled himself as Sieur de la Mothe Cadillac, asking for and receiving a hundred thousand acres of land along the Maine coast, including the entirety of Mount Desert Island. He hoped to establish a feudal estate in the New World but failed. He and his wife lived on the island briefly before abandoning their enterprise. Cadillac later relocated and became the founder of Detroit.
During my visit to Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park, I slept in Ellsworth, ME, and commuted the 20 miles down the ME-3 highway to get to the park and Bar Harbor. During my first day in Ellsworth, I spent most of my time stocking up on supplies for the week. With the weather getting colder by the day, especially so far north, I needed to find a light fleece that I could wear on afternoon hikes. Luckily, L.L. Bean has an outlet store in town and I was able to find one for a steep discount. My next stop was to look for a new cooler. Originally I was using a regular Coleman cooler, the kind that everyone has at home. It worked well for a while, but failed to keep my food cold for very long and began to smell. I went to the Global Beverage Depot hoping they would sell coolers but all I found was a 6-pack of local craft beer which I bought to enjoy for my birthday. I asked the cashier if he knew anywhere to get a cooler as I checked out and he suggested Ace Hardware in Bar Harbor. This worked out great since Bar Harbor was where I was headed next. I drove into town, passing numerous lobster pound restaurants and tourist attractions like scenic airplane rides and gift shops. At Ace Hardware I found a nice Yeti cooler that fits perfectly in the bed of my truck. With the small amount of sunlight left in the day, I decided to wander around Bar Harbor and get a feel for the town. Eventually, I ended up walking down a street that took me to the waterfront where a land bridge had formed between Bar Harbor and Bar Island. This land bridge forms when the seawater recedes, making Bar Island accessible by foot an hour and a half before and after low tide. I made some photos of Bar Harbor in the warm glow of the setting sun and then headed back to the truck before the tide came in.
I planned on starting my day early on my birthday in order to maximize my time for hiking but that plan quickly changed when I woke up. It was my birthday after all. I can sleep in if I want to. I made some coffee and immediately headed back to Bar Harbor. Over the next few hours, I walked around the other side of town that I hadn’t gotten to see the day before. A good 60% of the stores I walked past were tourist trap gift shops, selling variations of the same lobster or moose-themed apparel. The rest of downtown consisted of restaurants, bars, cafes, outdoor shops, a bookstore, and more. There was also a shop selling games, animal figures, and puzzles all made of wood. They even had imported rugs for sale too! I liked the fact that they donate all of their profit towards land conservation on the island as well.
After walking around town for a few hours I went south to Blackwoods campground where I had reservations to spend the night. I checked into the campground and headed into the park to hike the Precipice Trail. Located along the cliffs of Champlain Moutain the trail consists of iron rungs and ladders set into the granite of the mountain. It begins with some light rock scrambling up to the base of the mountain before turning into a sort of adult jungle gym. Hikers must use the iron bars to climb up the many fault lines and shelf systems that make up the trail. This hike was extremely fun and quite a challenge. It offered beautiful views of the island coast and the sea beyond.
Having worked up quite an appetite during my hike I decided it was a good time to get myself a good birthday dinner. I decided I wanted to enjoy some local cuisine so I went to the Terrace Grill located outside the Harbor Inn Hotel. Overlooking the harbor, the Terrace Grill serves traditional Maine dinners alongside one of the most picturesque views in town. After a short wait, I was seated and wasted no time ordering the lobster bake. My first course was a delicious clam chowder served with oyster crackers. As if on cue, the second my bowl was clean (which didn’t take very long), my waiter arrived with the second course. This was a beautiful arrangement of mussels and clams surrounding a small dish of clarified butter. Not having had the pleasure of enjoying such a dish before I didn’t know whether to use my fork or suck them out of the shell like a vacuum cleaner. I opted for the latter of the two. Just as promptly as my second course arrived, the main course, my whole cooked lobster, came out right at the perfect time. Let me tell you, this lobster was by far the best I have ever had. Boiled in seawater along with freshly picked seaweed, the lobster had a distinct ocean brine taste to it that helped bring out the rich flavor of the meat. Rounding out this exquisite meal was a slice of fresh baked Maine blueberry pie a la mode.
In the morning I made pancakes with some Maine maple syrup I had bought a few days before. I ate among the trees, sipping my coffee and listening to the birds chirping overhead. It was quite overcast but I held out hope that the clouds would clear for me to be able to go hiking. My first stop in the park was the Sieur de Monts Nature Center. Often called the “heart of Acadia” this nature center is the home to the Sieur de Monts spring, the Abbe Museum of the Wabanaki people, and the Wild Gardens of Acadia. In the gardens are a variety of simulated park habitats found throughout the island. Inside the nature center are exhibits showcasing the science behind the scenery of Acadia and the work scientists and researchers do to ensure the scenery is protected. Sieur de Monts is also a very popular place for birdwatching because of its close proximity to the Great Meadow wetlands.
From Sieur de Monts I went south to Sand Beach hoping to hike the nearby Beehive Trail. Unfortunately, just as I left my truck to begin hiking it began to sprinkle so I decided to forego the hike. Instead, I committed to driving the entire Park Loop Rd. which goes through a majority of Acadia. I made quite a few stops along my afternoon cruise, making pictures, taking in the sights, and visiting the many attractions the park offers. After Sand Beach, I stopped at Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole, is a small inlet just off the side of the road. Beneath the inlet is a large cavern that fills rapidly with water when conditions are just right. This forces the air from the cavern out and shoots the water as high as 40 ft above the rocks. I was unlucky to get there during a time when the tides weren’t causing such a spectacle, so I made a note to come back and moved on. My next stop was the famous Jordan Pond and Jordan Pond House. This is the place where the Jordan family would house summer vacationers and explorers beginning in the early 19th century. Today you can still stop in at the restaurant and have a hearty meal with homemade popovers for dessert.
On my last day in Acadia, I hiked the Beehive Trail. Similar in form to the Precipice Trail, Beehive consists mostly of climbing up metal rungs and scrambling over rocks to reach the summit. However, Beehive is a much more manageable trail, with fewer ledges to shuffle across and smaller ladders to climb making it easier for most to hike. Having summited Beehive I set my sights on Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern seaboard. There is a road up to the summit but I chose to hike since parking permits are quite hard to get. I did a 5-mile loop to the summit and back. I began on the Gorge Path, hiking up between Cadillac Mountain and its neighbor, Mt. Dorr. At the summit, I walked between the informational signs learning about the history of the mountain and its geology. Taking the north ridge back down the mountain I had a beautiful view of Bar Harbor and the rest of the island basking in the sunset.
Overall, I thought Acadia and the surrounding areas were absolutely incredible. I can see why it is such a popular destination for travelers to visit. During my time on the island, I saw people from across the globe walking around town and on the trails. If you have the opportunity to go to Acadia I highly recommend it, especially in the fall. It is a destination rich in history and full of exciting natural features to explore.